When shipping high value electronics such as cloud infrastructure hardware or medical devices, you can never be too careful. Even a minor mishap can cause severe damage to highly sensitive products, and nobody wants to take the blame for damaged equipment. That’s why certain precautions have become necessary to ensure … read more /

West Coast ports are near gridlock as offloading operations were suspended six days in February (including President’s Day weekend), as contentious contract negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) were delayed. These slowdowns compromise business opportunities and contracts. Less obviously, they threaten … read more /

When Cold Train Express Intermodal Service suspended operations in mid-August, shippers in the Pacific Northwest were left scrambling for ways to get just-harvested pears and apples to markets in 24 states and Ontario while the fruits are still at peak freshness. Standard intermodal rail is one option, but BNSF’s northern … read more /

Talking with an insurance agent before things go wrong is one of the most important steps supply chain professionals can take to mitigate supply chain risk. The reason is simple: With years of incident data, they know what works and which technologies are worthwhile. And, they’re willing to share that … read more /

When dealing with supply chain risks, crossed fingers aren’t a solution. Yet, when juggling the competing demands of ensuring low costs, on-time deliveries, global regulatory compliance, client satisfaction and increasing revenue, it’s easy for risk mitigation to become a low priority. For example, a recent study by the University of … read more /

ShockWatch, a manufacturer of impact, tilt and temperature monitors and data loggers, just opened its first online store. “The addition of this Web store makes it even easier for our clients to order the indicators or recorders they need, when they need them – even if it’s 3 AM at … read more /

ShockWatch, a provider of impact, temperature and tilt monitors and indicators has just been awarded a contract with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). This contract allows government agencies, including the U.S. military, to streamline their purchases from ShockWatch. “Now government agencies can purchase ShockWatch monitoring solutions directly from the … read more /

The number one concern among international CEOs is supply chain failure, according to the recent 2014 Chubb Multinational Risk Survey. Supply chain risks trumped the year’s staggering cyber security breaches, global political upsets and increasing regulations. Chubb indicates that 52 percent of the U.S. and Canadian companies surveyed plan to … read more /

“We have families, too.” Many years ago, a Chicago-area grocery store used that statement in an ad campaign touting its attention to quality. The point applies to cargo handlers, too, yet, “Ninety-percent of all cold chain problems are due to human error,” according to Melissa Germain, assistant director of cold … read more /

ShockWatch just introduced a new version of the ColdMark2 that activates at a temperature threshold of 0°C. With this new, lower temperature indicator, you’ll know conclusively whether your products were exposed to freezing, potentially damaging, temperatures. By understanding the actual conditions products experience, you gain the insights you need to … read more /